On our way up - Redcar have learned the lessons from early season defeats and are are now challenging - and beating - the top teams.

One of their early season maulings was at Darlington Building Society NYSD Champions Richmondshire, yet last Saturday they turned the tables and beat the Dalesmen in the return fixture.

While the Seasiders are still in the lower half of the table, they have adapted to the demands of the top flight following promotion last season.

Skipper Tom Urwin said: “We have learned from every single game, including all those defeats. We have improved massively, adapting to the league and the quality players we face.

“Winning a couple of games lifted us. As skipper you try to say all the right things, but nothing boosts the players like a win. At the start of the season we were hanging in there and now it’s coming good because we stuck to our principles.

“To beat Richmond was massive for us, but there’s no way I’m saying we are now as good as them. We have a long way to go, but at least we are now competing with the better teams. It was not a shock for us to beat Richmond.

“There are games we should have won that we didn’t. We should have beaten Darlington and Great Ayton.”

The high-flying Quakers are at Redcar tomorrow. Redcar dismissed them for around 160 at Feethams, then fell 20 runs short having been in a position to win.

“That was the first game this season when we picked up significant points, and it gave us belief to go forward,” said Tom. “We set high standards and we now go into games expecting to win.”

Professional Muhammad Saad has come good, initially with the bat, but now with the ball as well. He recently snapped up six wickets against Guisborough and added four more against Richmond. As a batsman he is up with the best in the league in the averages.

“He’s only 23 and will get better,” said his skipper. “We’ve a young side and they have taken to him and he’s taken to them. He’s even fitted in with our sense of humour.”

The professionals are the main additions to the team that won promotion, and several players, including Callum Brown, Tyler Easton and Sam Berry are now establishing themselves as top flight players.

Urwin, at 27, is one of the older ones. He said: “I enjoy being skipper at this level. I enjoy captaining the professionals, and guiding the young lads. It’s a hard challenge. Much harder that winning a lot of games in Division One.

“But we wanted to be up here playing the best. We want to perform in every single game, and upset a few more top teams.”

And Redcar have done well in the cups too, reaching finals day in the Macmillan.

They beat Darlington and Richmond along the way, before losing in the semi-final to Great Ayton who went on to lift the cup.

So the season is turning into a good one for Redcar, and they appear to be on an upward curve.